Hickman plans to leave X-Men after ‘Inferno’

The architect of the Krakoa era of the X-titles will move on to something new for Marvel after ‘Inferno.’

After relaunching the X-Men titles back in 2019 and writing some of the books over the course of the last two years, Jonathan Hickman told Entertainment Weekly that the upcoming Inferno will be his last X-book for now.

Hickman said that wasn’t his plan initially, but came about because of how well the current storyline has been received by the creators he’s been working with .

“Oh, plans have changed entirely,” Hickman told EW. “When I pitched the X-Men story I wanted to do, I pitched a very big, very broad, three-act, three-event narrative, the first of which was House of X. And while this loosely worked as a three-year plan, I told Marvel upfront that I honestly had no idea how long the first part would last because there were a lot of interesting ideas that I had seeded that other creators would want to play with, and so, we left this rather open-ended. I was also pretty clear with all the writers that came into the office what the initial, three-act plan was so no one would be surprised when it was time for the line to pivot.”

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Marvel announces plans for milestone ‘Avengers’ #750

The oversized issue will include stories by Jason Aaron, Christopher Ruocchio, Steve McNiven, Carlos Pacheco and more.

Marvel is pulling out the stops on issue #750 of the Avengers, which arrives in November, as the 96-page issue will include multiple stories by current Avengers writer Jason Aaron and artists like Carlos Pacheco, Aaron Kuder, Ed McGuinness and Javier Garrón.

“It’s such an honor to be a part of issue #750 of Avengers, and I’m looking to celebrate the rich history of the title and its iconic characters by using this issue as the gargantuan-sized kick-off for a story that’ll be as wildly sweeping and swing-for-the-fences epic as it can possibly be,” Aaron told Marvel.com. “It’s not just that everything I’ve been doing in the last 50 issues of Avengers has been leading to this, but there are threads feeding into the next year’s worth of stories that stretch back to most every major series I’ve ever written in my 15 years at Marvel Comics.”

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‘Daredevil’ #36 marks the end of the current series — but Marvel promises more

Chip Zdarsky and Manuel Garcia will present an oversized final issue, while Marvel plans an announcement for Aug. 31.

Daredevil seems to bring the best out in its writers; from Frank Miller and Ann Nocenti to Ed Brubaker and Mark Waid, the title has enjoyed several epic, career-defining runs in its history. It’s really been no different for Chip Zdarsky, who has worked with artists like Marco Checchetto and Manuel Garcia to tear down Matt Murdock’s life, create a new one for Elektra and, of course, help the Kingpin find new love.

All that comes to a head in November’s oversized Daredevil #36, which Marvel says is the last issue of the current run, but not Zdarsky’s final issue of Daredevil.

“I know writers like to say things like, ‘It’s all been building toward this!!’ but, really, it has,” Zdarsky told Marvel.com. “When I sat down to write issue one, I knew that this issue was waiting and that it was going to drastically alter the lives of the Daredevil cast. Issue 36 is NOT an ending, it’s a beginning.”

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‘Darkhold’ continues in November with Wasp + Black Bolt

Jordie Bellaire, Claire Roe, Mark Russell and David Cutler will bring the next chapters in the event series to life.

Marvel has announced two more of the one-shots from their upcoming Darkhold event series, which features the infamous mystical tome causing problems for the Marvel Universe. Following the “Alpha” issue in September will be a series of one-shots featuring different characters “recruited to combat the Darkhold’s horrifying effects,” starting with Blade and Iron Man in September and Black Bolt and Wasp in October.

Colorist and writer Jordie Bellaire and artist Claire Roe are the creative team for Darkhold: Wasp, while Mark Russell teams with artist David Cutler on Darkhold: Black Bolt.

“As a writer, it’s a joy to get to write a character who spends even more time inside their own head than you do,” Russell said. “So Black Bolt is a writer’s dream character and when I heard which other creators were involved with the series, I was totally on board, like someone who’d unwittingly bought a house in a really great neighborhood.”

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Mail Call | Marvel’s Free Comic Book Day titles

Get ready for Free Comic Book Day, which is coming up this Saturday. Also check out news from DC, Image Comics, IDW, AfterShock Comics and more.

Mail Call is a roundup of the announcements we’ve received from comics publishers in our mailboxes recently that we haven’t already covered. Hit the links for more information.

Marvel’s Free Comic Book Day offerings for this year have been somewhat confusing — at one point Chip Zdarsky was mentioned as contributing — but the company has put out a press release detailing what you specifically can from them this coming Saturday.

Marvel will have two books, as previously announced — Spider-Man/Venom and Hulk/Avengers, both of which will tease upcoming storylines for the four titles represented.

As previously reported, Amazing Spider-Man is getting a new creative team AND a new person under the mask, as infamous clone Ben Reilly returns to take on the mantle of Spider-Man. One of the new writers of Amazing, Zeb Wells, will team with artist Patrick Gleason for a story featuring Reilly as Spider-Man. It will be accompanied by a Venom story by the new creative team of Ram V., Al Ewing and Bryan Hitch “in a glimpse that will show you just how twisted their upcoming run will be.”

Then, in the second title, Donny Cates and Ryan Ottley will present a look at their upcoming run on Hulk. And Jason Aaron teams up with Iban Coello to “present the dangerous new threat that the Avengers will face in the next arc of his hit Avengers run.”

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Marvel’s ‘Infinite Destinies’ wraps up in November

‘Giant-Size Black Cat’ will mark the end of the crossover event and the ‘Black Cat’ ongoing series.

Marvel’s Infinite Destinies event, which has been running in their annuals this summer and in the pages of the Black Cat ongoing, will wrap up in November with Giant-Size Black Cat: Infinity Score.

Writer Jed MacKay and artist C.F. Villa will bring the story featuring the Infinity Stones — and, it appears, the Black Cat ongoing — to its conclusion.

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Captain America + Iron Man team up in a new mini by Landy + Unzueta

The first issue of five arrives in November.

Marvel has announced Captain America/Iron Man, a new five-issue miniseries by Derek Landy and Ángel Unzueta that will debut in November.

According to Marvel.com, the miniseries will take the two Avengers “on an epic adventure that will explore the pair’s fascinating dynamic and history as they go up against a mysterious new threat from Hydra.”

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Spider-Man, Avengers + more feel the impact of ‘The Death of Doctor Strange’

Several tie-in one-shots will accompany the miniseries showcasing the death of Marvel’s Sorcerer Supreme.

The upcoming The Death of Doctor Strange miniseries won’t send the Master of the Mystical Arts off into the great beyond quietly. Marvel has announced several tie-ins that show the “major impact” his death has on the rest of Earth — and on the Avengers, Spider-Man, White Fox and Strange Academy in particular.

If you haven’t heard, the Sorcerer Supreme will follow in the footsteps of many other heroes who were killed in the line of battle in what’s turning out to be more than just a miniseries, but an entire event. Jed MacKay and Lee Garbett are the creative team for the main miniseries, which kicks off next month.

Then in October, Marvel will release two specials, featuring the Avengers and Strange Academy. Alex Paknadel and Ryan Bodenheim will team up for The Death of Doctor Strange: Avengers, while Skottie Young and Mike Del Mundo will helm Strange Academy Presents: The Death of Doctor Strange. Then, in November, Jed MacKay and Marcelo Ferreira present The Death of Doctor Strange: Spider-Man, while Alyssa Wong and Andie Tong bring The White Fox into the action.

Find out more about all three titles below.

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Whilce Portacio, Jeremy Holt + more contribute to ‘Marvel’s Voices: Identity’

The Marvel anthology will arrive Aug. 25.

Marvel has announced more details on Marvel’s Voices: Identity, the anthology they plan to release later this month that will focus on Asian creators and characters.

The anthology has slipped back from its original publication date of Aug. 11 and is now scheduled to be released Aug. 25. It follows in the footsteps of the recent Marvel Voices: Pride, Marvel’s Voices: Indigenous Voices and Marvel’s Voices: Legacy, which, respectively, featured stories by and about the LGBTQ+, Indigenous and Black communities.

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Mail Call | ‘X-Men: Inferno’ teasers say ‘Trust No One’

Check out news, announcements and previews from DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, Image and more.

Mail Call is a roundup of the announcements we’ve received from comics publishers in our mailboxes recently that we haven’t already covered. Hit the links for more information.

Marvel has released three teasers for X-Men: Inferno, the upcoming X-Men crossover event that shares a name with a 1989 X-Men crossover event (not to be confused with The Trial of Magneto, another X-Men event that kicks off in August and also shares a name with a 1980s X-Men storyline.)

The teasers all build on the concept of trust, suggesting that you pretty much can’t trust anyone on Krakoa these days:

“An homage to the original house ads for 1989’s milestone X-Men crossover Inferno, Silva’s artwork presents all the major players of the upcoming saga and teases the day of reckoning that will soon be upon them,” Marvel.com says about the teasers. Inferno is written by Jonathan Hickman with artwork by Valerio Schiti, R.B. Silva and Stefano Caselli.

“I’m very excited that we’re finally getting to share with everyone the follow-up to House of X/Powers of X,” Hickman said. “The story is 160 pages over four issues drawn exquisitely by Valerio Schiti, R.B. Silva and Stefano Caselli. I cannot wait for people to read it.” 

Inferno #1 arrives Sept. 29.

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Artists redraw early FF issues for comic’s 60th anniversary

Marvel’s ‘Fantastic Four Anniversary Tribute’ #1 will feature artists like Michael Allred and John Romita Jr. redrawing pages of ‘Fantastic Four’ #1 and ‘Fantastic Four Annual’ #3.

Like they did recently with Giant-Size X-Men and Captain America, Marvel is enlisting an impressive list of artists to redraw two key issues of Fantastic Four in celebration of the comic’s 60th birthday.

John Romita Jr., Walt Simonson, Sanford Greene, Daniel Warren Johnson, Paco Medina, Adam Hughes and Michael Allred are just a few of the artists who will each redraw a page of Fantastic Four #1 and Fantastic Four Annual #3, the wedding of Reed Richards and Sue Storm. Both comics were originally created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

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Smash Pages Playlist: Happy Spider-Man Day

Take a look, overhead: Smash Pages presents your 2021 Spider-Man playlist.

According to the calendar, today is Spider-Man Day, based on the cover date of Amazing Fantasy #15, which saw the debut of Peter Parker as Spider-Man. Now if you ask some folks, Spider-Man Day should technically fall in either May or June, when the comic was actually published back in 1962, but we’ll go with the socially acceptable Aug. 1 — because who wants to argue with what’s trending on Twitter?

In any event, Happy Spider-Man Day; in honor of the wall-crawler, we’ve put together a playlist of songs that pay tribute to Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s most famous creation. Enjoy, and let us know if we missed any of your favorite Spider-tunes in the comments below.

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